The Car Guide

We have rounded up the top five best-selling adventure SUVs for August 2025. Here’s the breakdown. In August 2025, naamsa reported that 51 880 new vehicles were sold in South Africa – an 18.7% increase compared to August 2024. Of the total new vehicle sales in August 2025, an estimate of 43 196 units sold were attributed to dealer sales, 6 266 to the rental industry, 1 215 to corporate fleets, and 1 203 to government sales. The 36 914 new passenger-car sales in the eighth month of 2025 represented the highest since September 2024. With our market’s penchant towards adventure SUVs, we’ve decided to take a closer look at this segment; rounding up the best-selling adventure SUVs in SA in August 2025. 5. Land Rover Defender – 132 Image: Land Rover The Defender was Jaguar Land Rover’s most popular model in August 2025; accounting for 132 of the 233 total units the brand sold in August 2025. Noteworthy, the Defender is the most expensive vehicle on this list, with a starting price of ...

A revered namesake, Testarossa has returned to a Ferrari. Meet the 849 Testarossa, the latest electrified Prancing Horse in the Italian marque’s stable. Image: Ferrari A Ferrari once again dons the ‘Testarossa’ moniker. However, this time, it’s been brought into the future, with the SF90’s successor boasting an electrified powertrain with eye-widening outputs. Derived from the SF90 Stradale, the 849 Testarossa’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) architecture comprises a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 internal combustion engine (ICE) and a trio of electric motors – two sited on the front axle and a single unit at the rear. The ICE component of the petrol-electric arrangement produces 610 kW and 842 N.m of torque, available from 7 500 and 6 500 r/min, respectively, with a redline of 8 300 r/min. The electric motors produce a combined 161 kW, lifting the peak power output to 772 kW. Ferrari has yet to reveal how much torque the PHEV setup produces. Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-s...

With the Mk8.5 Golf GTI having gained approval for the South African market, Volkswagen Group Africa has announced the Mk8.5 R is ‘being planned’ for SA. Image: Volkswagen Volkswagen Group Africa has confirmed to CAR Magazine that the Mk8.5 Golf R is “being planned” for South African introduction. Indeed, thanks to the Mk8.5 Golf GTI, which we sampled in an exclusive first local drive , being approved for our market, there is no longer a technical issue to bring in the pinnacle Golf model to our shores. Though, it’s now down to supply. That said, we anticipate the Mk8.5 Golf R will arrive in SA in 2026. We’d speculate pricing will again be close to the forthcoming updated Audi S3. As a reminder, the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol powertrain employed by the Mk8.5 Golf R received an injection of power and torque with the mid-cycle update. The Mk8.5 Golf R model’s EA888 engine produces 245 kW and 420 N.m, increases of 10 kW and 20 N.m, respectively. Power is exclusivel...

Mercedes-Benz has teased the recently-unveiled all-electric GLC’s sedan sibling, the C-Class with EQ Technology. Here’s what we know so far. Image: Mercedes-Benz Following the release of several teaser images, Mercedes-Benz officially unveiled the all-electric GLC (or GLC with EQ Technology, to use its full name) at IAA Mobility 2025. Now, with the reveal of an emissions-free version of the German marque’s best-selling SUV, a fair bet would have been that a C-Class with EQ Technology is waiting in the wings. Well, Mercedes-Benz has now released a teaser image of the upcoming battery-powered C-Class. The Stuttgart automaker has remained tight-lipped about specifics, though. However, a fair bet would be that the new-energy C-Class will share the GLC with EQ Technology’s 800 V electric architecture, which includes a 94 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The company has revealed the emissions-free operating range, though – 800 km on the WLTP cycle, which is 87 km more than its tall-ridin...

Showcased at IAA Mobility 2025, could the BAW 212 off-road SUV make its way to South Africa? It seems likely. Here’s what we know so far. Image: BAW BAW (Beijing Automobile Works) has showcased its 212 T01 at IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich, Germany. Now, considering BAIC, who is already trading in South Africa, owns a 51% stake in this Chinese automaker, we enquired whether BAW’s rugged off-road SUV will come to South Africa. Will the BAW 212 come to SA? Speaking to the company at IAA Mobility 2025, BAW told CAR Editor Ian McLaren that the 212 T01 is coming to “all African markets”. However, when the carmaker’s adventure SUV will be introduced to the African continent – or our country, specifically – remains unconfirmed. The BAW 212 T01 measures 4 705 mm in length, 1 895 mm in width, 1 936 mm in height, and 2 860 mm between the front and rear axles. For comparison, the 212 T01’s length and width make it slightly smaller than the GWM Tank 300 , though it’s wheelbase is 110 mm longer...

The BYD Dolphin Surf (or Atto 1) achieved a ‘standout result’ for safety in its segment, with the South Africa-bound city EV scoring the full complement of five stars at Euro NCAP.  Image: Euro NCAP The BYD Dolphin Surf has scored a five-star rating for safety at a 2025 Euro NCAP test. According to Euro NCAP, the Dolphin Surf is equipped with “state-of-the-art crash avoidance technology”. Euro NCAP noted that the Dolphin Surf achieved an “overall excellent performance” in all four categories of the safety test, where it provided “good protection” in the side-barrier test and more severe side pole impact, which earned BYD’s most compact EV the maximum amount of points in this segment of the assessment. Overall, the Dolphin Surf scored 82% for Adult Occupant protection and 86% for Child Occupant protection. As for the other categories, Vulnerable Road Users and Safety Assist systems, the Dolphin Surf scored 76% and 77%, respectively. Euro NCAP attributed the safety scores achie...